IAF Intercepts Suspicious Aerial Target Off Gush Dan Coast, American Killed in Israeli Strike In Lebanon | Updates – News18

The Israeli Air Force (IAF) intercepted a suspicious aerial target off the coast of Gush Dan early Thursday morning, following reports of explosions in the central Israeli areas of Sharon and Gush Dan.

According to Israeli media reports, two Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) were also detected afterwards, and the IAF intercepted one of them, while the other crashed in an open area.

Israel strikes heart of Beirut, killing six

Israel bombed central Beirut in the early hours of Thursday, killing at least six people, after its forces suffered their deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes against Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Israel said it conducted a precise air strike on Beirut. Reuters witnesses reported hearing a massive blast, and a security source said it targeted a building in central Beirut’s Bachoura neighbourhood close to parliament, the nearest Israeli strikes have come to Lebanon’s seat of government.

UN Holds Emergency Meet

The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting Wednesday to address the spiraling conflict in the Middle East.

Iran’s ambassador to the UN said his country launched nearly 200 missiles at Israel on Tuesday as a deterrent to further Israeli violence, while his Israeli counterpart called the barrage an “unprecedented act of aggression”.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed late on Tuesday to retaliate, and an Iranian commander threatened wider strikes on infrastructure if Israel did so. US President Biden said Wednesday that he would not support an Israeli attack targeting Iran’s nuclear programme.

American killed in Lebanon

An American from Dearborn, Michigan, was killed in Lebanon in an Israeli airstrike, according to the man’s daughter, friend and the US congresswoman representing his constituency.

Democratic US Representative Rashida Tlaib’s office said on Wednesday it was in touch with Kamel Ahmad Jawad’s family, adding he was the Palestinian American congresswoman’s constituent and a US citizen.

His daughter, Nadine Jawad, said in a statement that her father was killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon on Tuesday “while trying to save innocent lives.” She added that in his final days, her father chose to stay near a hospital to help the elderly and the disabled.

Harris Adviser Meets US Muslim, Arab Leaders

A senior adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris met American Muslim and Arab leaders on Wednesday as Harris’ presidential campaign seeks to win back voters angry at US support for Israel’s wars in Gaza and Lebanon.

Harris’ national security adviser, Phil Gordan, told the community leaders in the virtual meeting that the administration supports a ceasefire in Gaza, diplomacy in Lebanon and stability in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the vice president’s office said.

Ali Dagher, a Lebanese-American attorney and community leader, said the outreach from Harris’ office was not enough. “It’s too little, too late,” said Dagher, who did not participate in the meeting.

Israel Presses Forward on Two Fronts

Israel pressed forward on two fronts on Wednesday, pursuing a ground incursion into Lebanon against Hezbollah that left eight Israeli soldiers dead and conducting strikes in Gaza that killed dozens, including children.

As Israel vowed to retaliate for Iran’s ballistic missile attack a day earlier, the region braced for further escalation.

Iran, which backs both Hezbollah and the Hamas militants who run the Gaza Strip, launched dozens of missiles into Israel on Tuesday night, another escalation in a tit-for-tat cycle that is pushing the Middle East closer to a regional war. Israel warned that the attack would have “repercussions”.

Israel has continued to strike what it says are militant targets across Gaza nearly a year after Hamas’ October 7 attack ignited the war.

On October 7, Hamas-led militants killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took around 250 hostages. Some 100 have not yet been released, around 65 of whom are believed to be alive.

Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed over 41,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry. The military says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

Iran launched at least 180 missiles into Israel in what it said was retaliation for a series of devastating blows Israel landed recently against Hezbollah, which has been firing rockets into Israel since the war in Gaza began in solidarity with Hamas.

(With agency inputs)